Qatar's overall business environment score improves slightly, rising from 6.76 for the historical period (2013-17) to 6.86 for the forecast period (2018-22). However, improvements in other countries mean that Qatar's global ranking slips from 32nd to 35th, although its regional ranking remains steady at third. The biggest improvements, in terms of points, are in policy towards foreign investment (up by 0.9 points to 7.8) and in policy towards private enterprise and competition (up by 0.7 points to 5.5). On the negative side, the regional boycott has had a significantly negative impact on political stability, causing Qatar’s ranking in this category to drop from second to ninth in the region.